Jul 25, 2010

Here's my latest mixed media piece called summer at the lake. This work evolved from a lot of editing and problem-solving. Originally, there were more details around the lake, but I didn't like the direction I was going. So, I decided to cut out only the elements of the art work that I liked and glue the pieces to a birch panel. When using a rotary paper trimmer, I miscalculated one of the cuts and sliced through a part of the drawing I wanted to keep intact. Funny enough, I actually liked the horizontal line effect and made a few more horizontal cuts (as seen in the top portion of the work).

I debated on tinting the birch panel. Ultimately, I decided to keep it natural, which complements the warm tones of the sky and the water highlights. To enhance the wood a bit, I used Gamblin Gamvar varnish. Gamvar is normally used to varnish oil and acrylic paintings, but I apply it on mixed media works as well. The varnish seems to give colors a little more pop.

Although I do love drawing at my desk, most of my creative time this week has been spent on this embroidery piece:

I'm almost done with the embroidery part. I'm wondering if I should add a city monogram to the design like I did in this piece. Your thoughts?